Of Sleeping and Sofas
by A'tuinIsLost
Summary: A bit of light hearted fluff between Remus and Tonks one night at Grimmauld Place, with a bit of Sirius thrown in for good measure. Set during Order of the Phoenix. Rated light T to be safe. First Harry Potter fic, so please read and review New chapter up
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi everyone! After the failure that was my last attempt at fanfiction (22 hits and not a single review- come on people!) I decided to have another attempt at writing, and came up with this. I do read quite a lot of fanfiction though, so if I've accidentally copied a bit from one of your stories, then please accept my full apologies for doing so. If my doing so has offended you in any way, then please send me a PM and I can edit this accordingly**.** On a different note, whilst this story is mostly canon, I have fudged the timeline a bit. Arthur's attack now takes place slightly earlier, meaning that the Weasley kids, Harry and Hermione have been sent back to Hogwarts for a bit before the Christmas holidays.**

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PLAGUE UPON THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS! FILTHY BLOOD TRAITOR SCUM! HALF-BLOODED SHAPE- SHIFTING FREAK!

"Bugger" came the grumbled reply from Junior Auror Tonks as she dragged the curtains back in front of the screaming portrait.

"We're in the library, Nymphadora". Tonks was too tired to object to the use of her first name as she made her way to Grimmauld's dusty library- besides, she recognised it as Remus' voice, and if she was totally honest with herself then she almost didn't mind him saying it. At the very least she was too busy being distracted by the teasing glint in those beautiful blue eyes… Those same blue eyes were now currently looking down at her in concern as she flung herself down next to him on the faded sofa with a vague "Wotcher".

"Bloody hell Tonks, you look awful"

"Thanks Sirius. You really know how to compliment a girl. 'Sides, you'd look this crap if you'd been working the last 48 hours pretty much solid like I have. I faked ill at work so I could grab something to eat before I have to do guard duty at 10"

"Speaking of which, I was just about to make some hot chocolate. Do you want some?" Remus stretched as he rose from the dusty sofa.

"No thanks, better make it coffee. Hot chocolate always makes me sleepy, and it's hardly vigilant to fall asleep on duty"

"Are you hungry? Molly saved some of the stew for you if you want it, or there might be some apple pie left if Sirius here didn't eat it all"

"Hey! I resent that! I'm only following Molly's orders, I'm sick of being constantly told that I'm too thin"

After shooting Sirius an amused look (after all, he was regularly given the same lecture by the Weasley matriarch), Remus left the library, returning a few minutes later with coffee, hot chocolate, a bowl of apple pie for Tonks and a sober-up potion for Sirius, who grumbled a bit before sighing and swallowing it down in one.

"So, what were you two talking about when I came in? Anything good?" asked Tonks as she prodded her pie with her spoon. She'd been starving a few minutes ago, but now that the adrenaline had worn off she didn't really feel like eating, not even Molly's apple pie.

"Nothing much, just looking forward to having a full house over Christmas again. It'll be good to see the kids again. Well, I guess they aren't really kids anymore"

"Is Hermione coming? I know that at one point she was thinking of going back to her parents?"

This, however, proved to be the extent of Tonks' socialising abilities as she fought to stay awake. Finally sensing defeat, she figured that a quick nap wouldn't hurt. After all, she reasoned, you can't keep constant vigilance if you're half asleep, can you?

Remus was suddenly jolted out of his conversation by a sudden weight on his shoulder. Twisting in his seat in order to keep his shoulder as still as possible (after all, one could never be entirely sure what was in some of these rooms), his expression softened at the sight of the young Auror curled up on the sofa with her head on his shoulder, the odd breath tickling the nape of his neck. Curled up like that, she looked almost…vulnerable…especially as her morph dropped to reveal the dark shadows under her eyes.

Remus was startled out of his reverie by a loud snore. Sirius- he'd know that sound almost anywhere after seven years of sharing a dorm, and he should've remembered that sober-up potions knocked him out like that after all the times he'd forced Sirius to take them, especially in the last few months. Sighing, he reached for his book, but it appeared to have fallen into the floor. He couldn't reach his wand either, thanks to the sleeping witch pinning his other arm to the sofa. After musing that the full moon had only been two days ago, Remus stretched out as best as he could, and shut his eyes.

~~~A few hours later~~~

The floorboards creaked as Molly Weasley stepped into 12, Grimmauld Place. With the children either back at school or working, and Arthur still in hospital, the Burrow was too quiet for Molly's nerves to cope with. She'd already been over earlier in the evening to cook dinner, but there was always the excuse of cleaning or something. Grimmauld Place being this quiet wasn't a cause for worry, though- nobody wanted to accidentally wake up that infernal portrait.

After pausing to make herself a cup of tea in the kitchen, Molly walked through to the library, one of the few habitable rooms in the house, expecting to see Sirius nursing yet another bottle of firewhiskey. Instead, he was snoring his head off in the armchair by the fireplace. But what really caught her attention was the couple on the sofa. Tonks was curled up against Remus, her head apparently having slipped down from his shoulder to his chest. It seemed that she had been the first of the pair to fall asleep, as Remus' arm had been pinned to the back of the sofa, but as she was leaning so far forwards the lower half of Remus' arm had been freed to rest gently on her waist. Talking of Remus, it was shocking how, well, _young_ he looked. Maybe he always looked like that when he slept, maybe it was the presence of a certain Auror, but the tired lines that usually surrounded his eyes had disappeared, leaving behind the face of young man old before his time.

Smiling to herself, Molly backed quietly out the library and returned to the kitchen, intending to drink her tea there instead. At least, that had been the plan. Her eye had caught sight of the guard duty roster that had been left on the table from the last meeting, and Tonks' duty for tonight with Alastor in particular seemed to stand out. Not wanted to wake the sleeping girl, Molly scribbled a quick note to anybody that came into the kitchen and apparated away. There really was no peace for those in this seemingly eternal battle against Voldemort.

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**AN(2): Thanks for reading! I just thought I'd mention that I'm considering a second chapter for this fic, despite the fact that it's marked as complete- nothing much, probably just a kind of "morning after" type thing. Please let me know your views on this by clicking on that little button below. Or just leave me a review anyway, I don't mind!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hi everyone! As you can see, I'm back again to publish the requested second chapter in this story. I have tried to keep the characters as realistic as I can, but if you see anything glaringly out of place then please don't hesitate to let me know. This chapter is also quite a bit longer than the first chapter, but I just couldn't find anywhere to split it into two chapters. I've just realised that I forgot to put a disclaimer in the last chapter, but as I can't be bothered to write it out all the time, please check out the general disclaimer on my profile page. Other than that, please enjoy this, and don't forget to leave any comments (good or bad) at the end!**

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Sirius jerked awake from his sleeping position in the fireside armchair thanks to the loud crack of Kreacher apparating outside in the hall. Scowling, he rose to his feet and stretched, wincing at his stiff muscles and the lingering remnants of a hangover not quite prevented by sober-up potion. It had been good whilst it lasted, he supposed, although the inside of his mouth felt and tasted horrible. He was just about to move towards the kitchen in search of something to drink when he caught sight of the sofa, or rather the people on the sofa.

From what he could remember of last night, Tonks had collapsed on the sofa and Remus had brought her apple pie and coffee. He seemed to recall Tonks getting a bit quiet, but that was pretty much it. Now, well, it took all of what little willpower Sirius possessed not to burst out laughing, and then dance around the house chanting "I told you so" over and over again. Tonks had fallen asleep on Remus- and not just on his shoulder or something- she was (as Sirius noted with glee) practically in his lap, with her legs slightly caught up in his. It wasn't exactly one-sided either, he was pleased to note, for Remus had one arm around Tonks with the other resting lightly on Tonks' hand, which had fallen across to land on his thigh. It was, as far as Sirius was concerned, quite possibly the best thing to happen for weeks.

After this initial joy, however, Sirius was left at something of a loss with regards to the sleeping couple. To begin with, he sat back in his armchair with a knowing smirk on his face, waiting for his friend and cousin to wake up; however, he quickly got bored of this. Maybe it would be a good idea to wake them up? At least then they'd be able to entertain him in some way or another. No, he thought to himself, anything too sudden might cause them to jerk apart from each other or something, and what was the point of this if he couldn't see what happened when they woke up that close to each other? Maybe "accidentally" making a bit of noise might work, he mused. After all, it was hardly his fault if they woke up then. But even bothering his horrible ancestors with a charmed feather lost its appeal when you were smirking at a dusty sofa. Sirius brightened a little at hearing the door open and close, and although he was slightly disappointed that his visitor was Molly Weasley, he cheered up when he remembered that she'd probably be willing to make him breakfast.

"Morning Molly", he whispered through the gloom of the hallway.

"Sirius?", Molly was more than a little confused- Sirius normally didn't surface from his alcohol-induced slumber until at least midday, and it was generally Remus who was left to do the greetings and polite small talk whilst Sirius grumbled about being locked up.

"Yeah. Follow me through to the kitchen; we won't have to whisper in there".

"Right", said Molly, once they were in the kitchen and away from the volatile portrait, "I'd better make a start on breakfast. Is Remus awake? That man really doesn't eat anywhere near enough. If Tonks is still asleep then I think it would be best to let her sleep for a while, the poor girl looked exhausted. Anyway", she added, bustling around the kitchen, "sausages or bacon or both?"

"Tonks? I thought you left before she got in?" Sirius knew that he hadn't exactly been completely sober last night, but he was sure Molly had left almost immediately after cooking dinner.

"Oh, I came back for a bit after dinner; I thought that maybe I could get a bit more cleaning done, I ended up covering her guard duty with Alastor instead. I couldn't bear to wake her up, especially with her and Remus like that. I've been hoping that they'll get together for a few weeks now"

"They've been like that all night then?" Sirius grinned as Molly put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him.

"Like what?" Molly had to admit that she was slightly puzzled by the whole thing. She knew that Sirius had a rather…interesting…sense of humour, but she failed to see what so amusing about Tonks falling asleep with her head on Remus' chest.

"When I woke up this morning, Tonks was practically in Remus' lap, and he had his arms around her. To be honest, I'm surprised that he hasn't already woken up and run off somewhere. Normally I'm the one who doesn't wake up"

"I must say that I was surprised to see you awake so early, usually it's only Remus awake right now. Anyway, eat your breakfast before it goes cold, you're still too skinny"

As he shovelled bacon and eggs into his mouth as fast as he could, his eye was suddenly caught by the sight of Arthur's old muggle camera on the sideboard. He smiled to himself. Remus and Tonks may be asleep, but there was nothing wrong with having a little fun with them while they were, oh, and maybe gaining a little bit of blackmailing power over the pair of them at the same time.

By the time Sirius had finished eating, Molly had cooked two more plates of bacon and eggs to bring in to Remus and Tonks, which she picked up to take through to the library, Sirius followed her, almost barrelling into her when she stopped suddenly in the doorway.

"Look at them- they look so sweet together like that. Oh, I do hope that they get together; they're perfect for each other." Molly cooed.

Whilst Molly cast warming charms on the plates and opened the curtains (not that it made much difference to the gloom in the room), Sirius took a few photographs, just in case one of them ever needed some convincing to do something for him in the future.

Shortly after they left the room, Tonks woke up, confused as to why she was in the library rather than her flat or borrowed bedroom upstairs. She was also rather pleasantly surprised to discover that she had fallen asleep on Remus- speaking of Remus, she could see his eyelids fluttering as he shifted slightly, his arms tightening around her. Wow, she thought to herself, he's even more gorgeous up close. There was his honey-coloured hair, lightly highlighted with the odd bit of silver, flopping against his face; those pale, slightly scarred eyelids concealing those amazing sparkly blue eyes she had fallen for almost as soon as she saw them, set in a face that she could only describe as modestly handsome. And after spending the night leaning against him like that, she had a pretty good idea of what lay concealed beneath those carefully patched robes, and it wasn't something that she was adverse to seeing.

After realising that she couldn't exactly go anywhere even if she wanted to, Tonks settled back into Remus' arms, revelling in his apparent affectionateness when he was asleep, not daring to believe that he might feel this, well,_ tenderly_ about her whilst they were both awake, and not daring to hope that her rather-more-than-just-friendly feelings for him could ever be requited. She was just wondering whether or not it would be possible to "accidentally" fall asleep on him again if it would mean another night wrapped in these lovely arms, when the owner of said lovely arms woke up.

"Nymphadora" he murmured, blinking away the last traces of sleep from his eyes

"Wotcher, Remus"

At this, Remus finally noticed the girl who was practically in his lap, and blushed a brilliant red. Tonks noticed him turning red and inadvertently morphed her hair tomato-red.

"Well, um, what happened? This isn't some joke of Sirius', is it?"

"I don't think so. I know that you fell asleep last night after you got in, and then I fell asleep a bit later. I think Sirius fell asleep just after you did, so unless he had something to do with this after he woke up then I think that it's unlikely"

"Right, ok, well, umm… well, did you know that you're very comfortable to sleep on? I don't think I've slept that well in months, I mean, well, errrr…" Suddenly aware that she was letting her mouth run away with her again, Tonks stopped speaking, filling the room with a rather awkward silence. After a while, Remus spoke

"Oh, well, thanks, you're welcome, and if you wanted to use me as a pillow again, that is to say, I'm glad I could be of service to you and help you sleep and, well-" As to what Remus was going to say after that, Tonks never found out, as he suddenly turned an even brighter shade of red when he heard the next words to come out of Tonks' mouth

"Merlin, you're even more adorable like that". When she saw that Remus had turned an even brighter shade of red, she suddenly realised that she had (yet again) accidentally thought out loud.

"Nym… I… what?" Remus now felt more confused than ever. He needed chocolate. Chocolate always makes things easier to understand, or at least distracts you until they sort themselves out.

"When you don't know what to say, you look even more adorable than usual, which I didn't actually think was possible, but hey, I'm not complaining. Your eyes go sort of shiny and you kind of look like a kid caught sneaking sweets" Tonks was half aware that she didn't really know what she was saying, but somehow she couldn't seem to stop speaking, and instead just ploughed on.

"Seriously though, Rem, you take adorable to a whole new level, I mean you're utterly gorgeous to look at, and just so nice, and you make brilliant hot chocolate, and you brought me apple pie when I was dead on my feet yesterday, and you're just, well, wow". Her voice suddenly took on a more serious tone. "All that, and you don't laugh at my clumsiness, you help me up afterwards, and, well, it's one of the many reasons why I really like you"

"Dora- Tonks- you're an amazing woman, but, well, you can't like me"

"And why not?" Tonks was angry now. She'd basically laid her heart out to Remus, and now he was trying to tell her how to she should feel.

"Dora, I really like you too, more than I should, but that's beside the point. Look at the facts here. I'm 13 years older than you, I don't have a Knut to my name and I'm a dark creature. I'm the last person anyone would even consider a relationship with, let alone a beautiful, funny, kind, endearingly clumsy young Auror like yourself"

"And what if I think that your excuses are a load of hippogriff dung?" Tonks was too enraged with Remus to immediately notice that he too had laid his feelings out to her

"Dora, they aren't excuses, they're solid, provable facts! I'm 13 years older than you- I'm closer in age to your parents than I am to you!" Remus was almost shouting now, but he didn't care who heard him. He couldn't risk hurting anyone by being in a relationship with them. His kind was supposed to live alone, or in packs. They weren't supposed to have any kind of romantic attachments.

Dora responded by morphing her features to match those of a middle-aged woman. "Remus, I can be any age I want to be, so don't you think that's a bit of a pathetic excuse? Besides, the last guy I went out with was a lot older than me, do you think I would've gone out with them if I didn't like older men".

"And there's not forgetting the fact that I don't have a Knut to my name either" Remus carried on as though he hadn't heard Tonks' objections.

"Remus, if I cared about money, then I'd be chasing after some bloke who was only interested in me because I could look however he wanted me to. I'm not doing that, because I don't want someone just because of their money. I want you, not some bloke with a diamond-encrusted broomstick or whatever"

"Dora, I'm a flipping werewolf! I could kill you or bite you at any point! Don't you understand how dangerous I am?"

"Remus, I'm an Auror, I know what danger is. If I was frightened of it I'd be working in a dress shop or something like that. And dangerous? Remus, you're on the Wolfsbane potion, you stay like yourself with that. And as I said earlier, I'm an Auror, trained under Mad-Eye himself. I could also kill you pretty quickly if I wanted to"

"That's not the point, Nymphadora. I could seriously hurt you if we were ever in a relationship, and you'd be made an outcast. I couldn't inflict that on anyone, especially not you". Remus felt that he was pretty much clutching at straws here, but he needed to get his point across. Dora was too good to lose.

"Remus, please, just listen to me for a moment". Tonks' voice now took on a more pleading, desperate tone "Remus, I really like you, and you've just come out and said that you like me too. Why can't you just let yourself be happy for once? If anyone deserves it then you do. I know you turn a bit fluffy every month, but we can work around that. Hell, if it makes you feel better, then I'll stay away from you around then. Please, Remie, just give it a chance. With me?"

"Wait, what did you just call me?"

"I called you Remie, sorry, it just sort of slipped out. I'll stick to Remus in future"

"I don't mind if you call me that", Remus took a deep breath, knowing that he was about to do something reckless, but not caring about the results "just, don't use it in front of Sirius please, or anyone else for that matter. I…I only want you to use it, Dora".

"Girlfriend's privilege?" she joked, but there was desperation behind her jovial tone.

"If you really to be my girlfriend, then yes, that is your privilege" In spite of himself, Remus found himself grinning so hard he felt that his face would tear in two. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this happy- James and Lily's wedding? Having friends? Being accepted into Hogwarts? They all seemed to pale in comparison to having this amazing, wonderful woman, no, angel, want to be with him, an old, poor, bookworm werewolf.

"Yay!" Tonks jumped up and threw her arms round him, hugging him as close as she could, in a gesture which he happily returned.

"Oh, Remie?"

"Yes, Dora?"

"When we're with others, can you stick to Tonks or Dora please? I don't think I could take it if Sirius noticed that I let you call me Nymphadora without hexing you. And the same probably goes for Nym too"

"Yes, love. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry, so what do you say we eat this wonderful breakfast that Molly has so kindly laid out for us?"

"Fine by me, but I want to do something first"

Before Remus had time to question Tonks, she stretched up and captured his lips with hers, kissing him softly yet with a lingering passion and hunger, as though she was trying to put all of her emotions into that kiss. Once he had got over his initial shock, he responded, putting as much emotion as he could into the kiss, or at least that was his plan. With the worst possible timing, the door to the library suddenly burst open, revealing Sirius, who clearly hadn't noticed what was going on.

"Moony, are you up yet? I'm bored, so can you-", he broke off, suddenly noticing that his best friend and cousin were standing and kissing in the middle of the room. He paused, trying to take in the scene in front of him, during which time Remus and Tonks finally noticed that he was in the room.

"Morning Sirius"

But Sirius didn't appear to have heard them, for he suddenly turned on his heel, then began dancing around the house chanting "I told you so" for several minutes, only to be replaced a few minutes later with "Moony and Dora, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marriage then comes-" in a rare moment of stealth, Tonks had managed to sneak up on her cousin, and charmed his hair bright pink without him noticing, until he passed the huge ornate mirror in the hall "MY HAIR, MY BEAUTIFUL SHINY HAIR!" he shrieked.

Grabbing Remus by the hand, she pulled him towards the door, almost knocking a surprised, yet rather pleased, Molly Weasley to the floor. Laughing, they ran out of the house and down a side alley, disapparating away into the early morning sun.

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**AN(2): Thanks for reading! I'd also like to thank everyone who read my previous chapter, especially _ThisLoveHasNoCeiling_, _HPfollower101_, _Ana Torres_,_ iriblue_, _MsTonksLupin_, _Cas__s_ and _iambananas_ for taking the time to review it (or had reviewed at time of publishing). Reviews make my week, so please let me know what you thought of this by clicking on that little button below.  
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**AN(3): And now for a bit of blatant self-promotion! I'm starting another Remus-Tonks based multi-chapter fic, where they get to meet their son years before he was born thanks to some accidental time travelling. I imagine that it's been done before, but I wanted to give it a shot myself. Anyway, I think that's all I wanted to say, so again, thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hi everyone! First of all, I'd like to apologise for the fact that this chapter is over a week later than when I had promised it for. After publishing the second chapter, I had thought that this story was then complete, but a number of requests from readers led me to write this. I'm still not entirely sure about this chapter (this is about the sixth or seventh version), but I realised that if I didn't publish it now then I never would. This is the final chapter for this story- I don't think that I'd be able to write anything else for it**.

**AN(2): This chapter was inspired by the song from Disney's _Pocahontas_ entitled _"If I never knew you"_. When I was searching for the song lyrics online, I found a slightly different version by Jon Secada, and I thought that those lyrics would be more appropriate for the chapter, although I much prefer the version from the Pocahontas film. The descriptions of the singing are based on the singing abilities of two of my friends rather than the actual songs (although if you wanted to link it to either of the versions, it would probably link in with the Disney version). Song lyrics are in italics.  
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Tonks blinked as she found herself on the edge of a small cluster of trees, gazing out onto some beautiful public gardens. Thankfully it was still early in the morning, meaning that their unexpected arrival had gone unnoticed by muggles. She turned to look up at Remus.

"Where are we?" she asked

"Bath. Parade Gardens, to be precise"

"Why?"

"If I'm perfectly honest, then I'm not sure. I think it must have just been the first place that popped into my head when we ran out of the house"

"Ok. Well, it's pretty, anyway- do you want to go and explore?"

Not giving him a chance to answer, Tonks grabbed Remus by the hand and tried to drag him away from the trees, but she tripped on a twig concealed in the grass and fell backwards towards the ground, bracing herself for the impact that never came. Instead, a pair of surprisingly strong arms caught her around her waist and guided her back upwards, but they didn't let go of her.

"Thanks, Remie" Tonks breathed. His hands on her waist made her feel slightly breathless, as though she'd just been running. Putting her own arms around his shoulders, she leaned in and started kissing him. Remus responded with equal enthusiasm, breaking away a few minutes later.

"Come on, I thought you wanted to explore?" Remus asked his now pouting girlfriend.

The two walked through the gardens, eventually coming across a set of steps, which brought them out on a wide bridge. Unsure of what to do next, the two sat down on a nearby bench to enjoy the relative quiet of the early morning. It was then that Tonks noticed a young-ish couple on the corner of the bridge, standing just a few metres away from them. She watched them for a few minutes as they set buckets on the ground and fiddled about with what looked like an old muggle CD player. She wasn't sure what exactly they were about to do, but it was certainly interesting, and when they started a duet together, both she and Remus gasped slightly at the song when the boy started to sing in a deep, rich voice

_If I never knew you, if I never felt this love_

_I would have no inkling of how precious life can be_

_And if I never held you, I would never have a clue_

_How at last I find in you, the missing part of me._

_In this world so full of fear, full of rage and lies_

"Well, that's one way of describing this awful war" thought Remus to himself.

_I can see this truth so clear, in your eyes, so dry your eyes_

_And I'm so grateful to you, I'd have lived my whole life through_

_Lost forever, if I never knew you._

The boy seemed to have stopped singing now, to be replaced by the higher, almost operatic voice of the girl.

_If I never knew you, I'd be safe but half as real_

"Wow, that's pretty much what I was trying to convince Remus of earlier", thought Tonks to herself, "only I'd be perhaps slightly safer, not completely safe, but I guess the idea still applies" She gripped Remus' hand a little more tightly in the hope that he'd understand what she was thinking, and took the return squeeze as his accepting her point.

_Never knowing I could feel a love so strong and true_

_I'm so grateful to you, I'd have lived my whole life through_

_Lost forever, if I never knew you._

Tonks blinked away the tears that had begun to form throughout the song as the boy and girl turned to sing towards each other

_I thought our love would be so beautiful_

_Somehow we make the whole world right_

_I never knew that fear and hate could be so strong_

"They should try living as a werewolf then. Strong doesn't even begin to cover it" Remus thought to himself bitterly, or at least as bitterly as he could with his beautiful new girlfriend sitting next to him. She'd looked past all the hatred and saw him as a person, something he was incredibly grateful for, and still not entirely sure he deserved.

_All they leave are worthless whispers in the night_

_But still my heart is saying we were right._

"We are right together, I know we are" Tonks muttered to herself, as the two began to sing lines at each other again

_If I never knew you_

_There's no moment I regret_

_If I never knew this love_

_Since the moment that we met_

_I'd have no inkling of how precious life can be_

_If our time's auspicious as that_

_Is here to last_

_I thought our love would be so beautiful_

_So beautiful…_

_Somehow we make the world right_

_I thought our love would be so beautiful_

_We turn the darkness into light_

_And still my heart is saying we were right_

_We were right_

_And if I never knew you_

_And if I never knew you_

_I'd have lived my whole life through_

_Empty as the sky_

_Never knowing why_

_Lost forever_

_If I never knew you_

As soon as the song was over, Tonks leapt up from the bench and dragged a slightly startled Remus over to the couple, who were now fiddling with the CD player again.

"Hi" she said, not entirely sure where to begin. The boy and girl jumped suddenly when Tonks addressed them, the boy looking rather warily at her spiky bubble-gum pink hair.

"Err- can we help you?" The boy was a little confused- he'd been busking for years, but the only time that people ever spoke to you was when they wanted you to move because you were blocking their driveway or something. This pink-haired girl didn't look like a policewoman, nor were they in anyone's driveway, but wouldn't drop his guard until he was sure that she wasn't going to accuse him of trespassing or something.

"I was just wondering why you were singing on a bridge" replied Tonks

The girl looked up from the papers that she was now flicking through. "We're busking- you know, singing in the hopes that people will make a donation. Basically, we're trying to help disadvantaged kids by singing".

"Oh, ok". By this point Tonks was digging through the pockets of her jeans, trying to find the muggle money she was supposed to carry with her on Auror missions in case she ended up in a muggle area. She eventually dug out a small handful of coins, and after picking out a few sickles, put the coins into the nearest bucket before turning to Remus.

"Come on, Rem, I want to have a look around for a bit before we have to get back to Snuffles". Leaving the couple to carry on singing, they walked along the bridge in the opposite direction. It was Remus who spoke first.

"We'd better get back pretty soon- you've got another shift in a few hours with the ministry, and Sirius will be awful later today if we're much longer, especially if we don't bring him back anything"

Tonks sighed, and then dug through another pocket for more muggle money. Remus looked on in slight curiosity

"Why do you carry around Muggle money, Dora?"

"Moody told me to keep some with me on missions in case I end up in a muggle street or something and can't get the Knight Bus or apparate out. Most of us at work carry the money around, but I'm one of the few who can actually understand it. Anyway, there's a cake shop over there, let's grab something for Sirius before we get back- hopefully he'll be slightly more bearable if we give him cake"

A few minutes later, Remus and Tonks found themselves armed with several boxes of cupcakes and looking around for a suitably deserted side street to apparate back to London. After a few minutes of searching, they found one, but neither of them were particularly keen to face the musty gloom of Grimmauld Place just yet.

"Do we have to leave? I want to stay here for a bit longer" begged Tonks.

"We need to get back to Sirius, Love"

"I know, but I don't think that I could really face a whole day of his teasing. He's been bad enough as it is these past few weeks, and now we've gone and given him a whole new reason to tease us"

"I guess you're right, but you know that it's only going to get worse the longer we stay out"

"I suppose so, but…" Tonks broke off, as though slightly embarrassed

"What is it, Nym?"

"Well, it's just, I can't do this back at Grimmauld" she murmured, then reached up to press a quick kiss to a surprised Remus' lips, who quickly returned the gesture.

"I'm afraid that we're going to have to make do with the park near Grimmauld, Dora- it's too dangerous to keep disappearing off like this without telling anyone where we're going". Remus sighed- for a few blissful minutes he'd managed to forget about the war, and now it had come back to him with all the subtlety of an angry hippogriff.

"Alright then. I'll grab your arm- it'll be easier if we side-along back". Tonks grabbed onto Remus and prepared herself for the familiar squeezing sensation of apparating. They re-appeared in the dirty side alley near Grimmauld Place that they often used for apparating, and began to walk towards number 12. A few metres from the door, Tonks stopped suddenly.

"I don't want to have to go back in there. The war…everything seems so much more real when we're in there. Plus, we'll have to put up with Sirius and probably Molly questioning us about everything"

"Nor do I, Love, but we'll face it together- not just Sirius, but the war, everything"

"Together?"

"Together". And with that last word, they walked united towards the concealed entrance, and towards the end of the war, towards their future. It may not have been a fairytale ending, but when Tonks allowed her mind to wander as she filed yet another report for the Ministry, she realised that she wouldn't have had it any other way.

* * *

**AN(3): I wanted to use this space to apologise for my accidental implication that the first chapter of my next story, "Teddy's Travels with Time-Turners", had been published when I mentioned it at the end of the last chapter. The first chapter of that story is now posted and can be accessed through my profile.**

**AN(4): Thank you very much to everyone who has read this story, and especially to _ThisLoveHasNoCeiling_, _HPfollower101_, _Ana Torres_, _iriblue_, _MsTonksLupin_, _Cass_, _iambananas_, _musicisglee_ and _PurifiedDrinkingWater _for reviewing (doubley thank you to _HPfollower101_ for reviewing twice!); _iriblue_ for favouriting and _HPfollower101_ and _musicisglee _for adding this to their story alert list. Your kind support is sometimes the only thing that motivates me to sit down and type.**


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